Can You Put Wood In Recycling Bin? 

It is truly evident that recycling bins have been around for quite 50 years. These specially made products provide space to keep those recyclable safe, collected, and organized. But, can you put wood in recycling bin? Is wood recyclable? What to do with wood? And a lot more questions might jerk your mind when you have to deal with wood. But don’t worry if you are struggling with these queries, as you have reached the best place to find your answers. 

Let’s end the wait and start discussing whether the wood is recyclable and whether you should keep it inside the recycling bin or not. 

Can You Really Put Wood In A Recycling Bin?

We all know that paper is usually produced by cutting trees which can be recycled almost 10 times. 

But if you have some old wooden pieces that you think can be recycled and placed in a recycling bin, you must think wisely and a little deeper. 

In most situations, wood cannot be put into a recycling bin if it is into huge pieces. Because most wood requires high wood treatment facilities that only can recycle and reuse this type of wood. Therefore, even being a natural resource, wood doesn’t have any place in any curbside single-stream recycling bin. Plus, there is no special recycling bin dedicated to keeping wooden pieces. 

However, when there is a time for disposing of a certain quantity of wood, this can be reused for some recycling purposes and making some new products.

But even to do this, a high-end wood treatment facility is required, which is not commonly available in a small area, town, or somewhere you live. 

Besides, there are several means and unique project ideas through which your wood can be reused for several purposes. Therefore, later in this section, I will also tell you about that!

Is It Okay To Keep Wood In The Garbage?

How certain wood is treated always depends on the type and condition of that wood. However, garbage bins are usually placed to collect yard or landfill waste. 

Therefore, if you have any amount of wood that has been gone from decades and is no longer useable for any repurpose. 

It is also true that a large amount of wood usually ends up in several landfills because most wood keepers don’t really know what to do with it. I mean, whether to recycle it or throw it away. 

A study shows that up to 12.2 million tons of wood in 2018 only went to the landfills created outside cities to gather waste. 

However, wood might always have a problem in those landfills because it is biodegradable, and it usually takes a lot of time to decompose inside a landfill. 

But there is a positive sign which comes through the release of methane gas usually gets released when these wooden pieces start to decompose in the landfills. 

Is There Any Wood That Can Be Recycled And Placed In A Recycling Bin?

Yes, only one type of wood which can be recycled and reused for some new products is “clean wood.” 

This is supposed to be a simple raw wood material or pieces that haven’t been painted, stained, or have gone through any treatment yet. 

Plus, such wood is usually free from all types of preservatives and especially wood glue. 

Moreover, the pieces of wood have already been used or manufactured almost once in a specific usage. This includes the usage of wood in pallets or some untreated lumber applications. 

In most cases, the facilities that provide recycling to these wood always categorize these wood into several types. 

This includes the dirty, clean and mixed wood types. But in reality, this wood has the following grades. 

Grade A Wood:

In Grade A, a plank of clean wood is usually used and comes from all those pallets. This type of grade wood can be used to make those mulch and the products such as beds for animals. 

Because such wood doesn’t really have any sort of toxic or harmful chemicals for your plants and trees to give them any harm. 

These woods can be recycled for next usage purposes. 

Grade B Wood:

When some construction and demolition projects have been done, the wood from these projects is called Grade B wood. 

Grade B wood can also be recycled and reused again. 

Grade C Wood:

This type of wood usually combines a mixture of the two types of woods available above. Plus, it also includes municipal wood, which usually comes from the limbs cut down from the trees. 

Such wood is very useful for the fuel as to burn it and use it. 

Grade D Wood:

This is usually the type of wood that has already been treated or painted. It might have been used for home improvement projects, including the shingles, fencing, decks, siding, etc. 

These all grades clearly indicate whether that wood would be recycled or not. And it also states whether it would be used for other projects or not. 

This type of wood usually cannot be recycled and is normally treated as hazardous waste. Plus, it should be disposed of at any nearby hazardous waste facility available in your area. 

Can You Recycle Wood Furniture?

Furniture is usually made with much effort and creativity using technical equipment and solid brainstorming. 

Therefore, it cannot be recycled and broken, so some new pieces might be created from it. In case you have any furniture in a little good condition which you think can be reused again, you can do the following things with it. 

• Sale it at any nearby furniture market or shop accepting the old furniture with a replacement of new.
• Donate it to any charity or not-for-profit organization working in any area nearby your town. 
• Or if you think the furniture is of no use to anyone, the best place where it will go is landfill waste. 

How To Deal With Old Pieces Of Wood For Disposal?

Just in case you want to get rid of all the old wood pieces you have collected so far and don’t know what to do, I will give you three solutions. 

You can precisely do the following things with that kind of wood. 

Throw Away Or Burn It:

Such wood is usually considered Grade C wood which can either be just thrown away or could be used for burning as a fuel for most needs. 

So, if this kind of wood doesn’t go to landfills, using it for fuel is the best option to get rid of it. 

Recycling It:

Sometimes, you might consider recycling some wooden pieces. But that would be something like a leftover from the construction. If so, it can be disposed of by taking it to any nearby recycling facility. 

However, always ensure that whether the wood is treated or untreated. Always remember that only untreated and clean wood free from all types of paint applications can be recycled. 

Moreover, always consider bundling up that kind of wood before taking it to any facility like that. There, they might use it for any application. 

Have That Wood For Any Repurposing:

Besides just throwing that leftover construction wood or lumber pieces or sending them to a recycling facility, a good way could be having that wood for repurposing. 

I mean to say, to find some distinctive ways to use that wood for some other purposes. I know you are such a creative person, and I have no doubt about you.

Can You Put Wood In Black Bin?

A Black bin is commonly used to collect all those general waste items which are not really recyclable yet. 

Therefore, in case you have wood, and you want to throw it into a black bin, there shall be no problem in doing so. Yes, you can use a black bin to keep waste like wood inside it. 

To understand what you can put and what not inside a recycling bin, read our comprehensive guide on what I can put in my recycling bin. You will get more information there. 

What Bin Can I Put Wood In?

In most cases, the wood collectors and all those waste management facilities providers recommend having a green bin to collect wood material. 

Any green lidded bin is lined up to keep the wood and other garden material. These do not go to recycling. Instead, such materials go to waste. 

Final Thoughts:

A wood is not really recyclable but can be used once to make many products like furniture, paper, beds for dogs, etc. But even despite this fact, some types of wood can be recycled or thrown into a landfill even if they are kept in any bin (recycling bin). Therefore, I hope that your question on “can you put wood in recycling bin” has been answered properly. And you have got what you were looking for. 

In this case, thanks for reading and being here today. Explore this website to read more about waste and recycling bins. Take good care of yourself and have a nice day!

References:

1. Selke, S.E. and Wichman, I., 2004. Wood fiber/polyolefin composites. Composites Part A: applied science and manufacturing, 35(3), pp.321-326.
2. Kamdem, D.P., Jiang, H., Cui, W., Freed, J. and Matuana, L.M., 2004. Properties of wood plastic composites made of recycled HDPE and wood flour from CCA-treated wood removed from service. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 35(3), pp.347-355.
3. Gasol, C.M., Farreny, R., Gabarrell, X. and Rieradevall, J., 2008. Life cycle assessment comparison among different reuse intensities for industrial wooden containers. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 13(5), pp.421-431.